UN General Assembly Resolutions:
Resolution 55/180

(December 19, 2000)

Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the financing of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon 1/ and the related report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions, 2/

Bearing
in mindSecurity
Council resolution 425 (1978) of 19 March 1978, by which the Council established the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, and the subsequent
resolutions by which the Council extended the mandate
of the Force, the latest of which was resolution
1310 (2000) of 27 July 2000,

Recalling its resolution S-8/2 of 21 April 1978 on the financing
of the Force and its subsequent resolutions thereon,
the latest of which was resolution
54/267 of 15 June 2000,

Reaffirming its resolutions 51/233 of 13 June 1997, 52/237 of 26 June 1998, 53/227 of 8 June 1999 and 54/267,

Reaffirming also that the costs of the Force are expenses of the Organization to be borne by Member Sates in accordance with Article 17, paragraph 2, of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling its previous decisions regarding the fact that, in order to meet the expenditures caused by the Force, a different procedure is required from that applied to meet expenditures of the regular budget of the United Nations,

Taking into account the fact that the economically more developed countries are in a position to make relatively larger contributions and that the economically less developed countries have a relatively limited capacity to contribute towards such operations,

Bearing in mind the special responsibilities of the States permanent members of the Security Council, as indicated in General Assembly resolution 1874 (S-IV) of 27 June 1963, in the financing of such operations,

Noting with appreciation that voluntary contributions have been made to the Force,

Mindful of the fact that it is essential to provide the Force with the necessary financial resources to enable it to fulfil its responsibilities under the relevant resolutions of the Security Council,

Concerned that the Secretary-General continues to face difficulties in meeting the obligations of the Force on a current basis, including reimbursement to current and former troop-contributing States,

Concerned also that the surplus balances in the Special Account for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon have been used to meet expenses of the Force in order to compensate for the lack of income resulting from non-payment and late payment by Member States of their contributions,

1. Takes note of the status of contributions to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon as at 31 October 2000, including the contributions outstanding in the amount of 139.4 million United States dollars, representing some 3.9 per cent of the total assessed contributions from the inception of the Force to the period ending 31 December 2000, notes that some 21 per cent of the Member States have paid their assessed contributions in full, and urges all other Member States concerned, in particular those in arrears, to ensure the payment of their outstanding assessed contributions;

2. Express its deep concern that Israel did not comply with its resolutions 51/233, 52/237, 53/227 and 54/267;

3. Stresses once again that Israel should strictly abide by its resolutions 51/233, 52/237, 53/227 and 54/267;

4. Expresses its appreciation to those Member States which have paid their assessed contributions in full;

5. Expresses concern about the financial situation with regard to peacekeeping activities, in particular as regards the reimbursements to troop contributors that bear additional burdens owing to overdue payments by Member States of their assessments;

6. Urges all other Member States to make every possible effort to ensure payment of their assessed contributions to the Force in full and on time;

7. Expresses concern at the delay experienced by the Secretary-General in deploying and providing adequate resources to some recent peacekeeping missions, in particular those in Africa;

8. Emphasizes that all future and existing peacekeeping missions shall be given equal and non-discriminatory treatment in respect of financial and administrative arrangements;

9. Also emphasizes that all peacekeeping missions shall be provided with adequate resources for the effective and efficient discharge of their respective mandates;

10. Requests the Secretary-General to make the fullest possible use of facilities and equipment at the United Nations Logistics Base at Brindisi, Italy, in order to minimize the costs of procurement for the Force, and for this purpose requests the Secretary-General to speed up the implementation of the asset management system at all peacekeeping missions in accordance with its resolution 52/1 A of 15 October 1997;

11. Endorses the conclusions and recommendations contained in the report of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions; 2/

12. Requests the Secretary-General to take all necessary action to ensure that the Force is administered with a maximum of efficiency and economy;

13. Also requests the Secretary-General, in order to reduce the cost of employing General Service staff, to continue efforts to recruit local staff for the Force against General Service posts, commensurate with the requirements of the Force;

14. Reiterates its request to the Secretary-General to take the necessary measures to ensure the full implementation of paragraph 8 of its resolution 51/233, paragraph 5 of its resolution 52/237, paragraph 11 of its resolution 53/227 and paragraph 14 of its resolution 54/267, stresses once again that Israel shall pay the amount of 1,284,633 dollars resulting from the incident at Qana on 18 April 1996, and requests the Secretary-General to report on this matter to the Assembly at its resumed fifty-fifth session;

15. Decides to appropriate to the Special Account for the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon the amount of 86,758,400 dollars gross (86,301,300 dollars net) for the expansion of the Force for the period from 1 July 2000 to 30 June 2001, in addition to the amount of 146,833,694 dollars gross (141,889,841 dollars net) already appropriated by the Assembly in its resolution 54/267;

16. Decides also, as an ad hoc arrangement, taking into account the amount of 85,652,987 dollars gross (82,769,071 dollars net) already apportioned in accordance with its resolution 54/267 for the period from 1 July 2000 to 31 January 2001, to apportion among Member States the additional amount of 50,609,069 dollars gross (50,342,425 dollars net), in accordance with the composition of groups set out in paragraphs 3 and 4 of its resolution 43/232 of 1 March 1989, as adjusted by the Assembly in its resolutions 44/192 B of 21 December 1989, 45/269 of 27 August 1991, 46/198 A of 20 December 1991, 47/218 A of 23 December 1992, 49/249 A of 20 July 1995, 49/249 B of 14 September 1995, 50/224 of 11 April 1996, 51/218 A to C of 18 December 1996 and 52/230 of 31 March 1998 and its decisions 48/472 A of 23 December 1993, 50/451 B of 23 December 1995 and 54/456 to 54/458 of 23 December 1999, the scale of assessments for the year 2000 3/ to be applied against a portion thereof, that is, 43,379,202 dollars gross (43,150,650 dollars net), which is the amount pertaining to the period ending 31 December 2000, and the scale of assessments for the year 2001, 4/ to be applied against the balance, that is, 7,229,867 dollars gross (7,191,775 dollars net) for the period from 1 to 31 January 2001;

17. Decides further that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X) of 15 December 1955, there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 16 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated additional staff assessment income of 266,644 dollars approved for the Force for the period from 1 July 2000 to 31 January 2001, 228,552 dollars being the amount pertaining to the period ending 31 December 2000 and the balance, that is, 38,092 dollars, pertaining to the period from 1 to 31 January 2001;

18. Decides, as an ad hoc arrangement, and taking into account the amount of 61,180,707 dollars gross (59,120,770 dollars net) already apportioned in accordance with its resolution 54/267 for the period from 1 February to 30 June 2001, to apportion among Member States the additional amount of 36,149,331 dollars gross (35,958,875 dollars net), at a monthly rate of 7,229,867 dollars gross (7,191,775 dollars net), in accordance with the scheme set out in the present resolution, taking into account the scale of assessments for the year 2001,4 subject to the decision of the Security Council to extend the mandate of the Force beyond 31 January 2001;

19. Decides also that, in accordance with the provisions of its resolution 973 (X), there shall be set off against the apportionment among Member States, as provided for in paragraph 18 above, their respective share in the Tax Equalization Fund of the estimated additional staff assessment income of 190,456 dollars approved for the Force for the period from 1 February to 30 June 2001;

20. Emphasizes that no peacekeeping mission shall be financed by borrowing funds from other active peacekeeping missions;

21. Encourages the Secretary-General to continue to take additional measures to ensure the safety and security of all personnel under the auspices of the United Nations participating in the Force;

22. Invites voluntary contributions to the Force in cash and in the form of services and supplies acceptable to the Secretary-General, to be administered, as appropriate, in accordance with the procedure and practices established by the General Assembly;

23. Decides to keep under review during its fifty-fifth session, under the item entitled "Financing of the United Nations peacekeeping forces in the Middle East", the sub-item entitled "United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon".